Personality Disorder
Anil Thomas Fellowship | NLP & Gestalt
Training, Certification and Research in Neuro-Linguistics & Gestalt Psychology
“Shayan is a shy boy”, “Anandi is very outgoing and jolly”, “Mr Gupta is suspicious of everyone”, “Mrs Banerjee gets upset over very minor things”. We tend to attach these titles of someone being shy, suspicious, dramatic, outgoing and many more, to people, under the pretence of their personality. What even is this personality that we blame everything on? Personality is an individual’s characteristic way of thinking, feeling and behaving. Personality is relatively stable and is influenced by many factors like genetics, environment, personal experiences etc. When personality factors interfere with the individual’s social, occupational or educational lives and cause disruption in the daily lives of the individual, they are characterised as personality disorders.
A personality disorder is a persistent pattern of emotions, cognitions and behaviour that causes severe emotional distress to the individual in their personal and professional life. Individuals with Personality Disorders may experience emotional distress that may cause problems for the individuals and also for those around. Individuals with personality disorders usually tend to have a pattern of thinking, feeling and behaving that deviates from the cultural norms and persist for a considerable time. DSM-5 has characterized 10 personality disorders that have been classified into 3 clusters based on their resemblance.
Personality disorders affect at least 2 of these areas: thinking about oneself and others, responding emotionally, relating to others, controlling others.
Cluster A Personality Disorders
This cluster of disorders includes paranoid, schizoid and schizotypal personality disorders, which all have symptoms that are a common feature of schizophrenia.
Cluster B Personality Disorders
Anti-social, borderline, histrionic and narcissistic personality disorders are classified under this cluster which is characterized by dramatic, emotional and erratic ways of thinking and behaving.
Cluster C Personality Disorders
Individuals with this type of personality disorder share common features with anxiety disorders. Avoidant, dependent and obsessive-compulsive personality disorders are classified under this cluster.
Research suggests that there are multiple factors that could lead to the development of personality disorders. Historically, it was believed that individuals with personality disorders are lazy or horrible and evil but with growing research, such prejudices are slowly being debunked. Personality disorders originate in early childhood and genetic and environmental factors have a fundamental influence on their development. They are not a direct reflection of bad parenting or abusive environment but involve an interaction of genetically fixed temperament and negative environmental factors. Imbalance of neurotransmitters like serotonin, dopamine, norepinephrine that regulate mood, suicidality, impulsivity, empathy or the lack of empathy, aggression is one of the causes of personality disorders. Genetic studies on personality disorders are still quite low and identification of specific genes that may increase the risk of an individual developing one may be extremely useful.
The environment and social conditions that one may have grown up in and the nurturing that one may have experienced is very important for how an individual’s personality develops. An unstable, chaotic and abusive family environment, lack of support from caregivers, bullying in schools or any other traumatic experiences in an educational or professional environment, poverty or drastic changes in socio-economic conditions can be some of the factors that could lead to the development of a personality disorder. Emotional and physical abuse, major accidents or tragic incidents, feelings of neglect, invalidation and lack of support during childhood may also be some of the causal factors. In a study conducted on 793 mothers and children, researchers have found that children who have experienced verbal abuse were three times more likely to have borderline, narcissistic, obsessive-compulsive or paranoid disorders in adulthood.
There are a number of treatment options for personality disorders based on one’s particular disorder and the severity of the symptoms. Psychotherapy, pharmacotherapy or the integration of both are typically the most viable options. There are no specific drugs for the treatment of personality disorders but depending upon the symptoms of the disorder, individuals may be prescribed antidepressants, antipsychotics or mood stabilizers. If someone you know has a personality disorder, it might be very difficult for them to maintain healthy relations with others. Patience is a virtue while interacting with them. When talking to them, you may experience that they may be aggressive, inappropriate, overly sensitive at times and it might be very difficult for you to acknowledge and understand their emotions. Being compassionate and non-judgemental is typically advised to those around. Personality Disorders are a part of the individual and it does not define them. Even if an individual has a particular disorder, that does not mean that they lack intelligence, likeability, creativity etc. Educating yourself about personality disorders is always advised.
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Conclusion
Diagnosis of Personality Disorders is complicated. There are many social contexts that can affect diagnosis and also treatment. Along with that the name ‘personality disorder’ can itself be very stigmatising. There needs to be increasing awareness about the disorder and realise that personality disorders are not a choice. An individual is not just being lazy or negative or weird. It can be a serious condition that needs treatment from a professional and must be treated with empathy by society. An open dialogue about personality disorders is important. Individuals like Steve Jobs, Angelina Jolie, Megan Fox have openly spoken about their struggles with the disorder. Movies like Tamasha, Silver Linings Playbook, Girl Interrupted, successfully depict characters with personality disorders. Popular culture, formal education and support group need to work in tandem to reduce the stigma attached to personality disorders and mental illnesses.
References
American Psychological Association. (n.d.). What causes personality disorders? American Psychological Association. https://www.apa.org/topics/personality-disorders/causes.
Barlow, D. H., Durand, V. M., Lalumiere, M. L., & Hofmann, S. G. (2021). Abnormal psychology: an integrative approach. Nelson Education Ltd.
Ma, G., Fan, H., Shen, C., & Wang, W. (2016, June). Genetic and Neuroimaging Features of Personality Disorders: State of the Art. Neuroscience bulletin. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5563771/.
Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research. (2016, September 23). Personality disorders. Mayo Clinic. https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/personality-disorders/diagnosis-treatment/drc-20354468.
Shea, Tracie & Pilkonis, Paul & Beckham, E. & Collins, Joseph & Elkin, I & Sotsky, S & Docherty, John. (1990). Personality disorders and treatment outcome in the NIMH Treatment of Depression Collaborative Research Program. The American journal of psychiatry. 147. 711-8. 10.1176/ajp.147.6.711.
What are personality disorders? (n.d.). https://www.mind.org.uk/information-support/types-of-mental-health-problems/personality-disorders.
What are Personality Disorders? What Are Personality Disorders? (n.d.). https://www.psychiatry.org/patients-families/personality-disorders/what-are-personality-disorders.
This article on 'Personality Disorder' has been contributed by Smruti Pusalkar, who is a Psychology student from Fergusson College. She is part of the Global Internship Research Program (GIRP), which is under the leadership and guidance of Anil Thomas. GIRP is an Umang Foundation Trust initiative to encourage young adults across our globe to showcase their research skills in psychology and to present it in creative content expression.
Smruti wishes to develop herself to be a more patient listener and a sharp observer to understand the happenings of the world and grow increasingly empathetic. She is passionate about mental health and well being and plans to pursue a career in this field. She is extremely curious about psychology and wants to spread awareness about mental health problems to help those in need.
Anil is an internationally certified NLP Master Practitioner and Gestalt Therapist. He has conducted NLP Training in Mumbai, and across 6 other countries. The NLP practitioner course is conducted twice every year. To get your NLP certification